Please, No
by Lisa Smithers
Summary: Will and Horace get caught in a scary situation, and Will has to save the both of them with double knife defense. Horace faints from relief afterwards. (WARNING: This will end in character death eventually. But don't worry, it's not Will ;) )
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, the background information is, Halt, Will, and Horace were in some kind of battle the reason of which will be determined and told at a later chapter.

Will and Horace got into a tight spot, and this is the aftermath thereof.

* * *

Halt scrambled to catch Horace as his eyes rolled back in his head his knees going weak.

"Horace?" Halt asked, "Horace?"

Halt turned to Will, still holding Horace up.

"You're not going to pass out on me, are you?" Halt asked exasperatedly, turning to his apprentice.

Will shook out his arms and legs, trying to escape the cold chill that had come over him in the fight. "No, I'm alright." Will said. Between Will and Halt, they drug Horace over to a good spot to make camp. Halt got some supper cooking while Will put up the tents.

Halt stoked the fire they were sitting around.

"You're awfully quiet tonight." Halt said.

Will just stared at the fire, answering only by shifting positions the slightest bit.

"That close, huh?" Halt said, "It's alright to be afraid." Will glanced away.  
"I know. It's just- I can't figure out where we went wrong." Will said, "You told me that one person could defeat an army if only they chose the right way to do it. As far as I can see we did it the right way, but we still had that close of a call."

"Wait, hold on, we?" Halt asked.

"It was both of us, not just Horace." Will said. "The man had us backed into a corner. He had Horace's sword, and I didn't have room to draw my bow."  
"So what did you do?" Halt asked. It sounded like an impossible situation to him.  
"Well, I used dual knife defense, but I was having trouble keeping up. Who ever trained those guys was good." Will said, "Then, just as he knocked the knives out of my hands, your arrow, the one that went nuts because a man pushed you as you fired, it stuck right beside us, the man didn't notice. Horace threw the arrow at him, diverting his attention, and I managed to get around behind him. I stabbed him a few times with my saxe."

"Where was your quiver?" Halt asked.

"The man tore it off of me. I got it back though. Somehow it wasn't broken." Will said.

"Well, you did pretty much exactly what I would have." Halt said.

"Except you would have gotten him with dual knife defense. You wouldn't have had to have had Horace distract him with the arrow." Will moped. Halt chuckled lightly, slowing himself a slight smile.

"You put to much stock in me Will, I'm not perfect." Halt said, "Dual knife defense is called 'defense' for a reason. It's made to keep you alive until you have a better option."

"You or Gilan would have figured out something." Will said. Halt frowned; this was getting a bit excessive.

"I'm serious Will, don't overestimate us." Halt said, "We make mistakes too. Just because we wear the silver leaf doesn't mean we've got everything figured out."

"But you could have gotten out of this one." Will said.

"What makes you so sure?" Halt asked.

"Be cause if it happened again I could do it alone." Will said, "I know what I did wrong now. Ugh! It's so obvious! All I would have had to do it roll between his legs, come up, and back-stab. In both senses of the word."

Halt was taken aback. "H-how big was this man?" Halt asked, "Taller than Gilan?"

"Much." Will answered, "Over two feet taller."

"He looked kind of scaly with bluish skin?" Halt asked. "Exactly. How did you know?" Will asked, "Have you fought him before?"

"By Gorlag's beard!" Halt exclaimed.

Will's head stayed in place but his eyes darted quickly, checking for any immediate danger.

Not seeing any, he was confused.

"What is it, Halt?" Will asked.

"You- you fought a Kalanchi!" Halt said, staring at his apprentice.

"A Kalanchi?" Will said, "What's that?"

"The Kalanchi are some of the most skilled short swordsmen in history." Halt said, "You kept up with him? Using dual knife defense?"

"Yeah..." Will said, "I told you he was good, and that I was having trouble."


	2. A Delightful Aroma

For the first time in his life, Halt couldn't find anything to say. He just stared at his apprentice.

"Halt?" Will said cautiously, "Are you alright?" Halt snapped out of his stupor.

"Yeah, fine." Halt said, "It's just... Crowley and I took down one of those back when Gilan was still a boy. It nearly killed us. We were hurt badly enough we couldn't ride. Gilan had to go for help... I don't know how you could have..."

"We just got lucky Halt, if your shot hadn't gone haywire we would be dead..." Will said. "But luck isn't always going to be on our side... So what would you have done Halt?"

"I think you handled it well enough on your own." Halt said, "You did pretty much what I would have done. The only advantage I would have had over you in that situation is muscle and weight. You probably would have done better than me, considering the fact that your arms are shorter. You'd have greater range of motion."

"But your technique is better than mine." Will said. "You probably would have seen openings that I didn't."

"From what you've told me Will, it doesn't sound like there were many of them." Halt said. "Now stop putting me on a pedestal, and I mean it. I'm no better than the other rangers in the corps, and if you set me as your goal you'll be held back. Now that that's taken care of, go check on Horace."

Will nodded and sauntered into the tent. Horace was laying there, fast asleep.

"He's sleeping." Will reported.

"The fright must have worn him out." Halt said. "Put on a pot of coffee. I'll grab some meat. Squirrel, probably, looking at these woods. Can you get the pans ready to fry it?"

Will nodded and set to work. About 20 minutes later, Halt returned with several squirrels, all shot right in the middle of the eye. They were 'Nature's targets,' as Halt often called them. The head was the only lethal place you could shoot one without destroying the meat, and they'd die with the least pain if you shot them right in the eye. The arrow would pierce the brain, and it would be lights out for Mr. Squirrel. Permanently. Will already had the frying pan ready over the fire, so all that was left to do was to prepare the meat. Will and Halt both took out their saxe knives and took a squirrel each to skin. Within a few minutes, they moved to the next, and then the next.

"Six squirrels in 20 minutes," Halt reflected. "Not bad. I could have done better, but not bad."

"Two for each of us then." Will said. He dropped the squirrel meat in the pan, and it immediately began sizzling. Once the aroma of frying squirrel filled the air, Will and Halt heard shuffling in the tent.

"Of course, he comes around now!" Halt said. "After every bit of the work is done."

Horace peaked his head out of the tent.

"Is that squirrel?"

Will rolled his eyes and handed Horace a hardy serving of the meat.

* * *

A/N: As always, reviews are welcome! Be sure to tel me how I did! Sorry for the short chapter, but that just seemed to be a good stopping point for this one.

Anyway, Review!


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